Death Cab for Cutie used to be a band that I never really gave a chance to. Years ago I was listening exclusively to electronic music, and aside from lead vocalist Ben Gibbard's side project with synthesizers "The Postal Service," I didn't really listen to much in the way of indie rock. Death Cab flew into my radar with 2005's major label debut "Plans," an album that many dismissed for being "too poppy." What it really was was flawless production, amazing lyrics ("I Will Follow You Into The Dark" comes to mind), and these things were exactly what the band needed to be successful on a major and break through to the mainstream.
"Narrow Stairs" takes the poppy production of "Plans" and mixes it with a darker, bleaker sound both lyrically and musically. The album starts out with the fantastic "Bixby Canyon Bridge," which is quite possibly the hardest Death Cab has rocked on a studio album. Distorted guitars and huge drums take the place of Gibbard's relaxing vocals for most of this track, and it's largely a sound that Death Cab haven't experimented with until this point, and it really works. In "I Will Possess Your Heart," the second track and first single, the band jams out to a midtempo bassey groove for a whole 4 minutes before the lyrics even start, and then the track transforms into a catchy stalker-esque song that borders on creepy at points. "You gotta spend some time, love // You gotta spend some time, with me // I know that you'll find, love // I will possess you heart."
Overall, the first 15-20 minutes of the album really shine as new and different for Death Cab. I was genuinely spurised at this different sound, and thought that it would last for the whole album, but that wasn't the case. "No Sunlight" and "Cath" feel like they could have been taken straight from "Plans," both very upbeat and infused with sugar-sweet guitar riffs and catchy lyrics that you'll be singing for hours after finishing them ("When I was young // Lying in the grass // I felt so safe // The warming bath // of sunlight, of sunlight"). "Grapevine Fires" mixes melodic piano with the spastic drumming that we've all come to love from Jason Mcgerr. Throughout the album they mix their old style of soft rock with a newer, harder sound that's evident on tracks such as "Bixby Canyon Bridge" and "Long Division." The mix works, and the harder sound is definitely a musical territory that Death Cab can succeed in.
Despite the album overall having a darker theme and some different styles, it's still easy to listen to and keeps a fairly consistent sound and production style. There are notable influences from older music in some of the tracks, as well: "You Can Do Better Than Me" sounds like the music was sampled straight from the Beach Boys, and "Pity and Fear" echoes the Indian theme that The Beatles toyed with in some of their later material (but it's no "Within You or Without You"). What Death Cab have succeeded in doing with "Narrow Stairs" is creating an album that, while not exactly groundbreaking or genre-defying, is worthy of praise simply because they manage to take the same basic formula that they've used for the last few albums and give it a fresh sound. I'll be listening to this one for a while.
"Narrow Stairs" takes the poppy production of "Plans" and mixes it with a darker, bleaker sound both lyrically and musically. The album starts out with the fantastic "Bixby Canyon Bridge," which is quite possibly the hardest Death Cab has rocked on a studio album. Distorted guitars and huge drums take the place of Gibbard's relaxing vocals for most of this track, and it's largely a sound that Death Cab haven't experimented with until this point, and it really works. In "I Will Possess Your Heart," the second track and first single, the band jams out to a midtempo bassey groove for a whole 4 minutes before the lyrics even start, and then the track transforms into a catchy stalker-esque song that borders on creepy at points. "You gotta spend some time, love // You gotta spend some time, with me // I know that you'll find, love // I will possess you heart."
Overall, the first 15-20 minutes of the album really shine as new and different for Death Cab. I was genuinely spurised at this different sound, and thought that it would last for the whole album, but that wasn't the case. "No Sunlight" and "Cath" feel like they could have been taken straight from "Plans," both very upbeat and infused with sugar-sweet guitar riffs and catchy lyrics that you'll be singing for hours after finishing them ("When I was young // Lying in the grass // I felt so safe // The warming bath // of sunlight, of sunlight"). "Grapevine Fires" mixes melodic piano with the spastic drumming that we've all come to love from Jason Mcgerr. Throughout the album they mix their old style of soft rock with a newer, harder sound that's evident on tracks such as "Bixby Canyon Bridge" and "Long Division." The mix works, and the harder sound is definitely a musical territory that Death Cab can succeed in.
Despite the album overall having a darker theme and some different styles, it's still easy to listen to and keeps a fairly consistent sound and production style. There are notable influences from older music in some of the tracks, as well: "You Can Do Better Than Me" sounds like the music was sampled straight from the Beach Boys, and "Pity and Fear" echoes the Indian theme that The Beatles toyed with in some of their later material (but it's no "Within You or Without You"). What Death Cab have succeeded in doing with "Narrow Stairs" is creating an album that, while not exactly groundbreaking or genre-defying, is worthy of praise simply because they manage to take the same basic formula that they've used for the last few albums and give it a fresh sound. I'll be listening to this one for a while.
